Senate votes to give back raise in pay

// * return string containing value of specified cookie or null if cookie does not exist

function getCookie(name) {

var dc = document.cookie;

var prefix = name + "=";

var begin = dc.indexOf("; " + prefix);

if (begin == -1) {

begin = dc.indexOf(prefix);

if (begin != 0) return null;

} else

begin += 2;

var end = document.cookie.indexOf(";", begin);

if (end == -1)

end = dc.length;

return unescape(dc.substring(begin + prefix.length, end));

}

var username = getCookie("mdwuser");

if (username == null || username == '') {

document.writeln ("You are not logged in");

} else {

document.writeln ("Welcome" + username + " ");

}

Member Center My Account

showDate() |

|

SEARCH

Go

Your Connection to the

| Subscribe

Home

>

The Athens Banner-Herald

>

Local News

Print-Ready Version

Send to Friend

E-Mail Editor

Local News

Senate votes to give back raise in pay101905 news26Athens Banner-HeraldWASHINGTON - Senators on Tuesday agreed to give up their annual pay raise, saying they need to do their part to save the government a little money in light of the huge expenses from Hurricane Katrina and the growing budget deficit.--> Senate votes to give back raise in pay Selfless move? By Jim Abrams | Associated Press | Story updated at 10:01 PM on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 WASHINGTON - Senators on Tuesday agreed to give up their annual pay raise, saying they need to do their part to save the government a little money in light of the huge expenses from Hurricane Katrina and the growing budget deficit.

Congress is looking for ways to rein in spending, said Sen. Jon Kyl, who sponsored the pay freeze proposal. "It's hard to argue that this process shouldn't include our own salaries." It passed 92-6.

Under Kyl's amendment to a spending bill covering federal workers, senators would forgo the estimated 1.9 percent cost-of-living increase that would otherwise have automatically gone into effect unless the Senate voted to reject it.

The pay increase, also applicable to House members, would boost the salary for rank-and-file lawmakers by $3,100 to $165,200.

Not every senator saw the vote as totally selfless.

"It's the annual hypocrisy day in the United States Senate," said Sen. James Inhoffe, R-Okla., who said he had voted against similar measures in the past but would support it this year because "we've never seen a situation like it is today."

He said the vote has always allowed members seeking re-election to "go home and say 'look what I've done, I've stopped us from having a pay raise."'

Kyl said that giving up this year's COLA would save the federal treasury about $2 million. Congress is currently trying to find some $50 billion in savings to offset the spending needed to rebuild the hurricane-hit Gulf Coast area.

The House earlier approved a similar spending bill with only one lawmaker speaking out against the pay increase.